The Yule Ball
by Liz Jean Tonks
Summary: What if... Harry didn't go to the Yule Ball with Parvati Patil?/Christmas Fluff and a bit of romance


**AN: **This is a Christmas story for Mason (NinjaDevil2000) who is my best friend. Thanks for always being there for me. I really hope you'll enjoy this story :)

Merry Christmas, everyone, and have fun!

Thanks so much to Esme for beta-reading!

* * *

It was only a couple more days until the Yule Ball, and Harry started to get desperate. He still hadn't asked anyone to the ball, and he knew that the longer he waited, the more people would already have dates.

Maybe the reason that he was so hesitant to ask someone was that there was one girl he'd like to ask, but he was too afraid she'd say 'no.'

He had met her in passing at the Quidditch World Cup this summer, but he didn't know much about her apart from the fact that her name was Luna Lovegood and that she was Ginny's best friend—and apparently a bit weird. He had overheard some people talking about her. They hadn't been saying the nicest of things.

One day she had been in the library with Harry, Hermione and Ginny, and Harry hadn't gotten the impression that she was weird. Maybe just a bit different from the others.

He wondered if she remembered his name at all. She wasn't in his house and apart from that one day in the library, they hadn't spent much time together. He thought that she was not only very pretty and cute, but also different from any other girls he had met.

As the days passed by, Harry tried to think of a girl that might want to go to the ball with him, but his thoughts still dwelled on Luna.

Finally, when he saw her walking up the staircases that led to Gryffindor tower with Ginny, he seized his chance and walked up to the girls.

"Hi," he said, grinning and feeling a bit odd.

"Hi," Ginny said.

"You two already got dates for the ball?" Harry asked anxiously.

Ginny nodded. "Yes! I'm so excited to go."

"Cool," Harry said, nervously glancing over to Luna.

"Yeah," Ginny said, "I hadn't expected Neville to ask me, but he was very sweet. I don't think he's the best dancer,"—She shrugged—"but at least I can go."

"I can't," Luna said now and shrugged. "But that's okay."

Harry's heart was beating faster. He knew that this was his chance. He would have preferred to ask Luna without Ginny standing next to them, but who knew if he'd get another opportunity to ask her at all.

"Actually," he said, "I was going to ask you."

Luna looked up, surprised. "Really?"

Harry nervously fiddled with the sleeves of his robes. "Really."

Luna beamed. "How nice of you!" she said. "I'd love to go!"

Harry stared at her in relief. "Really?" he stuttered.

"Really." Excited, she nudged Ginny. "That means we can both go!"

Ginny smiled happily.

Luna was still beaming. "I'll write to my dad and tell him I won't be home over Christmas. And that he should send me a dress because I have none here which I'd like to wear. Oh, I'm excited, Harry! It'll be great!" She happily patted Harry on the shoulder before turning around and running down the corridor, bouncing up and down.

Ginny and Harry walked up into the common room. Ginny was grinning to herself.

"What?" Harry asked, blushing.

"Oh, nothing," she said. "It's just… you know. I think it's cool you asked her. I've seen you two staring at each other in the Great Hall."

Harry's face got even redder. "I don't stare at her," he said. "Hold on. Do you think she stares at me, too?"

Ginny laughed. "You two are so cute. Okay, I've got to go. See you around Harry."

"See you."

/*/*/*/

Harry couldn't deny that he was getting nervous now. He couldn't believe that Luna had actually said yes, and more, that she had been so happy that he had asked her.

In the meantime, Ron was getting anxious. After he had asked Fleur Delacour and she had rejected him, he didn't dare even look at another girl. When Harry suggested that he go solo, he shook his head, determined. "No way! I'd rather just stay in the common room."

But Harry knew that Ron didn't really want to miss the dance.

"I think I heard Padma and Parvati mentioning that they didn't have partners yet. Why don't you ask Parvati?" Harry suggested. They were sitting in the armchairs in the common room, and Parvati was just a few meters away, doing her homework.

"And embarrass myself in front of everyone again," Ron snorted.

"Padma, then?"

"I don't know." Ron stared at the ceiling. "Do you think she'd go with me?"

"How am I supposed to know? Just ask her, and you'll see."

"And have another scene like the one with Fleur! No way!" Ron shook his head. "I think I'll just wait and see if someone will come and ask me."

"Okay."

"Do you think someone will?" Ron asked.

"I don't know." Harry shrugged. "All I know is that there are only two days left and no one's asked you yet, so..."

"Great. Now I feel better."

"Sorry, mate." Harry was going to ask Ron if he wanted to try on their dress robes, but he decided it would be insensitive to remind him of the fact that Harry had a date. Instead, he went alone to his bedroom and tried on the robe.

He looked at himself in the mirror, smiling happily. He hoped Luna would like his robes. That moment someone burst into his dormitory.

"Harry!" It was Ron. He was beaming, and his ears were red. "Guess what! I won't be going alone!"

"That's great, Ron," Harry said. "Who did you ask?"

"No one," he grinned. "I _was_ asked!

Harry turned away from the mirror. "That's even better," he said, grinning. "By whom?"

"You know that Durmstrang girl who was talking to Professor Sprout the other day? Just after you left, Lavender came to tell me that she was waiting outside for me. "

"Brown hair and red ribbon?"

"Yes!"

"How come she asked you?" Harry didn't even know the girl's name.

"She said she saw me talking to Fleur—which was kinda embarrassing at first—but then she said that I seemed cute and asked me if I'd go to the dance with her." He sat down on Harry's bed. "Her name's Ana. She's very pretty. Do you think it'll be embarrassing if I wear those old robes Mum bought me?"

"No," Harry said. "And you don't have any other robes, anyway, so they are better than wearing your school robes."

"I'm not so sure about that," Ron mumbled.

/*/*/*/

Two days later, Harry walked up the staircase to the Ravenclaw tower.

Nervously he waited in front of the Ravenclaw common room. He was a few minutes early, but he didn't have to wait long. Only moments later, Luna came out of her common room.

She wore a dark blue dress with silver lace. Around her neck, hung a necklace, shaped like a crescent.

"Hi, Luna," Harry said. "You look great."

"Thank you, Harry," she said, taking the arm he offered her. "You look nice, too."

Harry smiled awkwardly and together they walked down the staircases. They were both very quiet at first, but after a few minutes, the awkwardness faded. Luna asked Harry about the Triwizard Tournament and whether he had put his name into the Cup or not. When Harry told her that he hadn't, she just gave him an honest smile and said, "I believe you."

Then she asked whether he was sad that there was no Quidditch this year, and as soon as they reached this topic, Harry forgot all of his incertitude and found himself talking about Quidditch, the teams and then the Quidditch World Cup.

When they reached the Great Hall, Harry had the feeling that he'd known Luna for years. While he kept an eye out for Hermione and Ron, Professor McGonagall came up to the two of them.

"Mister Potter," she called, and Harry turned around. "Would you be so kind as to proceed to the hall with Miss Lovegood? Mister Krum and Miss Delacour are already there. Have you seen Diggory anywhere?"

Harry shook his head.

McGonagall whirled around and hastily paced down the corridors looking haggard.

"Come on," he said, taking Luna's hand again. "We'd better go inside."

He joined Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour in the Great Hall and was surprised to see Hermione at Krum's side.

She gave him a nervous smile. "Hi, Harry," she said. "Hi, Luna. You look great."

"Thanks. So do you." Harry looked around. "Have you seen Ron?"

"No," she shook her head. "I haven't seen any of the Weasleys."

Harry couldn't remember having seen his friend so nervous. But she looked happy.

A few minutes later Cedric and Cho arrived arm in arm. And some time later, Ron entered the hall, the Durmstrang girl at his side. His face was red, and he looked even more nervous than Harry and Hermione.

"Hi." His voice shook. "The dance will begin any minute, won't it?"

"I think so." Harry looked around and tried to find Professor McGonagall, but couldn't see her anywhere.

"Erm," Ron said, shooting a nervous glance to the girl next to him and lowering his voice. "Do you think I should ask her to dance?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. Hermione's the expert when it comes to stuff like that." He turned to Hermione, who gazed around the hall, seeming in some kind of trance.

"Hermione?"

She flinched.

Ron repeated his question, and Harry turned back to Luna.

McGonagall appeared in front of them. "Champions and partners, please come with me," she said. "Everyone else may stand aside, please."

Luna smiled at Harry, and they followed McGonagall and the others. Harry had been dreading the moment that he would have to dance with everybody watching him, but the moment the music started, and he laid his hands on Luna's waist, everything seemed to go much easier than when they had practised.

Luna was a great dancer; the way she moved made him think she could fly. When Harry looked to his left, he saw Hermione and Krum dancing together. He noticed that Krum was probably a way better dancer than he was, but Luna didn't seem to mind that he added some steps and left out some others. After a while, Ron and Ana joined the dance floor as well. From what Harry saw, Ron had had no reason to worry about his dancing abilities. He danced just as well as himself, and even better than some other pairs.

After a while, he managed to relax and enjoy the dance, and to his relief, Ron and Hermione seemed to do the same.

When he got tired, he asked Luna if she wanted to sit down. They found a nice place near the buffet where they could watch the dancing pairs on the dance floor.

To his surprise, as the dance progressed, Harry saw Hermione less with Krum. Fred had asked her for one dance, and she seemed to have forgotten that she had come here with Krum, and danced with Fred the rest of the evening. Ron and Ana had decided that they both wanted to sit down rather than dance all evening, and after a while, they lost each other in the crowd. Hermione joined Luna, Harry and Ron after a while. She was out of breath and beamed at them.

"Wonderful evening, don't you think?" she said. "Everyone's having so much fun."

Luna nodded. "It's wonderful," she said. "Thanks again for taking me, Harry."

"Thanks for coming," Harry said.

It was late when they returned to the common room. Harry accompanied Luna back to the Ravenclaw tower before he went back to his friends.

When he was in bed, he felt exhausted but happy.

/*/*/*/

The weekend after the Yule Ball was a Hogsmeade weekend, and Harry had decided to ask Luna if she would like to go with him. And to his delight, she said yes, with a happy smile on her face. For a second he felt bad because he had already made plans with Ron and Hermione, but he thought that they could have just enough fun without him and that they could still go together the next Hogsmeade weekend.

He was even more surprised when Hermione announced that she had changed her plans, too.

"Listen," she said Friday evening in the common room. "Someone's asked me to go to Hogsmeade with them."

Ron looked up, surprised. "Really?" he said. "The same someone who asked you to the dance?"

"Not quite." She looked nervous. "Actually, I'm going with Fred."

Ron's eyes grew wide. "With Fred? No way!"

Hermione shrugged. "We were dancing at the Yule Ball," was all she said.

"Well, looks like it's just the two of us, Harry," said Ron, still in disbelief.

"Actually," Harry said carefully, "Luna and I want to go together. I'm sorry, Ron."

He looked a bit hurt. "Great," he said. "So I'm just going alone."

"I'm sorry, Ron," Hermione said. "I should've told you earlier. But why don't you ask Ana?"

Ron shook his head. "I like her, and it was fun, but I don't want her to get the wrong idea. I don't really _like_ her."

"Hm," Hermione said. "Maybe just go with George, or doesn't he want to go?"

"I'll ask him," Ron said. "And if he doesn't, I'll just stay here, all alone." There was an undertone in his voice that told Hermione and Harry that he was very disappointed.

"Next time the three of us will go together, I promise," Hermione said.

Harry nodded. "And we can catch up with you later," he said. "It's not like I need to spend all afternoon alone with Luna."

"Me neither with Fred," Hermione said. "We could meet in the Three Broomsticks in the afternoon and then go back to the castle together. What do you think?"

Ron shrugged. "Sounds okay."

/*/*/*/

Hermione, Fred, George, Luna, Harry and Ron walked down to Hogsmeade together. In the village, they split up, each pair going in a different direction. Luna and Harry headed for the Shrieking Shack. Luna had told him that peculiar creatures were to be found there, and while he wasn't sure if he believed her, he was eager to see what she had in mind.

Once there, she crouched down and searched the snow.

"I'm looking for Parvaress," she explained.

"I've never heard of them before."

"They are very rare. They look just like white mice, but smaller."

Harry looked around. "Well," he said a little amused, "Good look finding them, Luna. How will you find white, little creatures in the snow?"

"That's the point," Luna said, standing up. "They're so hard to find! They live in the snow, and only in the snow, and they're so well hidden that it's nearly impossible to find them. But I saw one, once, at home, and I'd like to show one to my dad so he can write an article in the Quibbler about them. No one's ever before reported about Parvaress."

"I see," Harry said.

She smiled. "And they are probably the cutest creatures I've ever seen!" She sat down again and looked up at him.

"Will you help me?"

Harry's rational thinking told him that it was a waste of time to crawl in the snow, looking for creatures that probably didn't exist. He had never heard about them before, and Hagrid had told him about all of the creatures that could be found in Hogsmeade. But today wasn't the time for rational thinking.

He sat down next to her, smiled at her and said, "Of course."


End file.
